What's happening
Sixth Street had traditionally been shut down to vehicle traffic while the entertainment district was filled with bar and venue patrons on busy weekend nights. Under a pilot program that started in late 2024, Austin started reopening the roadway to cars while shifting pedestrians to widened sidewalk areas.
The city initiative formally started early this year with the installation of temporary fencing rented from the Austin Police Department as well as new rubber curbs placed on several blocks for around $44,000, according to Austin Transportation and Public Works.
After the fencing experienced damage from vehicles and weekend crowds, it was replaced with sturdier water-filled barriers that cost about $41,000 and have remained in place since then.
"The water-barricades were always meant to be a temporary solution. The concrete barricades will serve the same purpose to provide more space to pedestrians on Sixth Street," TPW spokesperson Brad Cesak said in an email.
The new features could remain in place for years while the city works on an engineering analysis of longer-term roadway upgrades. As an aesthetic improvement, they'll also be painted with designs from local artist Emily Eisenhart commissioned by the Downtown Austin Alliance. Hannah Rangel, the organization's vice president of built environment, said the abstract art will reflect Sixth Street's history, present and future.
"Beautifying the concrete barriers coming to Sixth Street is part of a larger, coordinated effort to evolve our iconic entertainment district into an area that feels safe, exciting and welcoming to everyone," Rangel said in an email. "The Downtown Austin Alliance envisions an 18-hour district that preserves quintessential elements of Sixth Street while balancing walkability, safety, and a variety of attractions for Austin residents and visitors alike."
The impact
City leaders have promoted the street reopening and barrier installation as a safety benefit, both for visitors and law enforcement.
TPW Assistant Director Anna Martin said no pedestrian collisions have been reported since the barriers were installed, which also had "very little impact" on travel times down the street.
In February, the Austin Police Department also reported officer uses of force, related injuries and arrests on Sixth Street had dropped in the initiative's first month, while officers encountered fewer fights among district patrons.
There's no available data yet about whether those trends are continuing, although APD Assistant Chief Mike Chancellor said officer uses of force and police response times have dropped "significantly" in the area since last year.
“It’s a lot more safe. And we’re looking at the aesthetics too with the way it looks and making sure that we don’t put something down here that’s an eyesore for businesses and the community in general," he said downtown Aug. 11.
An APD spokesperson said updated safety data from the program could be available by late August.
Next steps
The city's preliminary corridor analysis will ramp up with more engineering and design work next year, Martin said, before a decision on further local projects is made. That work could potentially be funded as part of Austin's 2026 bond package.
"We’re looking at, how wide should our sidewalks be? Do we need loading/unloading zones for cars, trucks, deliveries? Do we need lanes for scooters, bikes? How many travel lanes do we need?" she said. "We’re doing all of that work right now to inform a long-term infrastructure upgrade to Sixth Street.”
Rangel said downtown stakeholders hope to see changes like widened sidewalks with new dining areas going forward, and other updates that'll be informed by community engagement. For now, the concrete barriers could remain for years as more "iterative placemaking" for the corridor takes place.
"This is one of several many steps that we’ll see, I hope, in the coming years to help the street evolve, help the street work while it’s evolving, while we also do the background work of the full reconstruction," Rangel said.
